Heat pumps, found the research team, were “sufficient to meet heating loads at much higher efficiency than fossil heating and electric resistance heat alternatives.” Heat pumps in extreme cold climates That means that during the coldest stretches of winter in Metro Vancouver or Greater Victoria, heat pumps were up to nearly four times more efficient than heating with gas.

They found that when outside temperatures were between five and minus 10 degrees Celsius, COP for all systems sat at a mean of 2.74. homes?Īccording Gibbs and his team, the answer is no. The colder it gets outside, the more that efficiency will go down.ĭoes that mean that fossil fuel combustion is the more efficient choice to heat most B.C. What is clear: the overall performance of an air-source heat pump depends on the temperature difference inside and outside a house. was edited to remove sections stating electric heat pumps have an advantage over burning gas. Others have levelled claims of misinformation after a Glacier Media investigation showed a government-industry report gauging the potential future role for renewable gas in B.C. B.C.'s biggest gas utility, FortisBC, has called for the inclusion of gas heating into the province's long-term energy mix. homes, two-thirds of which will need their gas heating equipment replaced by 2030.īut many have raised questions over how heat pumps might handle B.C.'s, and indeed, Canada's colder climates. That gap - and the potential to reduce carbon emissions - has led some to call for a rapid electrification of thousands of gas-heated B.C.

By comparison, gas and oil furnaces usually have a COP of less than one. “This research features data from Canada and shows that heat pumps can perform more than twice as efficiently as an electric heater or gas furnace - even on the coldest day of the year.” Measuring heat pump efficiencyįor common household applications, heat pumps in above-zero climates usually have a year-round coefficient of performance (COP) rating of three to four, meaning triple to four times as many heat units are created for every energy unit used. “Heat pumps are key to decarbonizing Canadian buildings,” said Gibb in a statement. Together, they pulled 2,760 measurements showing heat pump performance data in Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, China and Canada. The research was led by Canadian Duncan Gibb, a senior advisor at the Brussels-based Regulatory Assistance Project, and carried out with researchers from Oxford University, the University of Exeter, and Ulster University. The study, published Monday in the journal Joule, examined the efficiency of air-source heat pumps in sub-zero scenarios down to minus 10 degrees Celsius - “mild cold climates” similar to the populated coastal regions of British Columbia. Even in the coldest environment, heat pumps are more efficient than gas heating or electric baseboards, a new study has found.

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